Ritu Phogat set to debut in mixed martial arts

New Delhi, Oct 25 : Former wrestler Ritu Phogat is set to make her debut in mixed martial arts organized by ONE Championship, to be held in Beijing on November 16.

Ritu Phogat from the famous Phogat family, is bringing the indomitable spirit of her lineage to the sport of mixed martial arts. The 2016 blockbuster Indian sports film, Dangal, was loosely based on her family's sporting heritage and accomplishments in wrestling.

Phogat earned a gold medal at the Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, a silver medal at the World U23 Wrestling World Championships, a bronze medal at the Asian Wrestling Championships, and multiple Indian National Wrestling Championships.

After months of hard training at Evolve MMA in Singapore, she is finally ready to step into the ONE Circle. Speaking about her foray into mixed martial arts, Phogat said, "For me it is a completely new sport, as I only knew how to wrestle before coming to Singapore. I have been training hard here with my coaches to learn the new martial arts forms to prepare myself as a mixed martial artist. Now it is time to put whatever I have learned into action.

"I just want to say that I am very happy that ONE has given me an opportunity to represent my country in MMA and I will try my best to win as many matches for my country in my journey as mixed martial artist." Facing her will be Cindy Tiong, a veteran kickboxer from Malaysia who is also making her professional mixed martial arts debut. (UNI)